Hydrostatic mine



Feb. 15, 1927. 1,617,674 w. DIETER v HYDROSTATI C MINE Filed Feb. 5,.l926 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR mm, blw'rw Feb. 15, 1927. w. DIETERHYDROSTATI C MINE l Filed Feb. 5, 1926 2, Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR 1 ByAttorneys,

Patented Feb. 15, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM DIETER, or NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

IIYDRosTATIc MINE Application filed February -charge ,of high explosivewhich fills the greater part of the capacity ofthe shell or casing, adetonator usually in the form of a cartridgehaving the-usual capcontaining fulminate, and an intermediate explosive charge which issometimes called the primer, and sometimes the booster charge. Aspringpressed diaphragm or other form of hydro stat is provided whichmoves under hydro-- static pressure as the mine descends, until the setdepth is reached, whereupon a sear or other -trigger device releases ahammer or firing needle which is projected by its wei ht or a spring, orby fluid pressure, and stri es the cartridge cap, exploding thecartridge, which in turn explodes the intermediate charge, and this inturn explodes the main Various provisions have been made forsafeguarding against the premature explosion of such minesor bombs. Onesuclrmeans is to provide two hydrostatic diaphragms or feet)-Will causethe explosion of the care pistons, the one setto a primary depth and theother to the secondary or final explosion depth. The primer or boostercharge has in some instances been made movable, being .primarily out ofreach of the cartridge, so

,that the explosion of the latter will not explode the primer charge;and being connect' ed to the primary hydrostat, so that the bomb indescending to the preliminary set depth (say 2() feet) will lift theprimer charge'within reach ofthe cartridge, after which the furtherdescent of the bomb to the final set depth (say, for example,

tridge andx thereupon the consequent exs plosions of the primer orintermediatechargey andthe main charge. The present invention aims toimprove upon the construction of such depth bombs .and to simplify themand make their safety provisions more reliable.

According to the present invention the intermediate charge is preferablyfixed in place Withinv the main charge. The primary hydrostat operates asliding member which normally cuts'off `communication be tween theAcliieriilr eontainingthe @arm-ge 3, 1926. e serial No. 85,646.

accompanying drawings, wherein,-

Figure 1 1s a longitudinal mid-section through the mine orbomb, showingit in the loaded position ready for launching.

Fig. 2 is a'. fragmentarytransverse section on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1,the cartridge being removed.

Fig. 34 is av section similar to Fig. 1, but showing the parts after thepreliminary -set depth has been reached and while the subsequentmovement toWard the final depth is in progress.

Fig.l 4 is a fragmentary transverse section on the line 4,-4 in Fig. r

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view on a larger scale, showing the conditionimmediately after the release of the hammer which causes ythe explosion.y

Fig. 6 is a fragment corresponding to the lower partfof Fig. l, showingthe condition of the parts in case of the premature exlplospn of thecartridgebefore launching the duced scale. It will be understood thatFigs'l and 3 'show only -those' portions ofthe bomb to ve that may berequired: bomb is formed, as usual, with an outer shell or casing Aof'sheetmetal. This shell is shown hemifspherical at Aone end, bu,tthis'is not essential. The major portion of the capacity within theshell is taken up by a charge B of lhigh explosive (usually e TNT).Within a central chamberv or cavity thesizeof bomb and-charge of highexplo- I,

is located, as usual, the intermediate exlosive A charge C, commonlycalled' the primer or booster charge; The primary explosive D in theform of a cartrldge myvbe-variously arranged, so that when exploded itwill -in turn explode the intermediate charge.'

90 e I y l I Fig. 7 1s an elevation of the bomb on a re- The bomb hastwo hydrostats, the primary hydrostat being indicated as a whole by theletter E, and the secondary hydrostat by the letter F. Each hydrostatconsists of a diaphragm or piston subjected to water pressure andopposed in its movement by a spring. The primary hydrostatat first isthe only one receiving the water pressure; its movement to 'the primaryset depth in turn admits water to act upon the secondary hydrostat,whereupon the latter moves p roportionally to the further increase inhydrostatic pressure.

The primary hydrostat E is shown as including a cylindrical corrugateddiaphragm a (which may well beconstructed of the type known as thesylphon), and which is opposed by the stress of a spring b. Thediaphragmga is enclosed in a chamber G which is conveniently formed in atransverse tubular casing H, as shown. The

diaphragm a is shown as attached to a' cap c closing one end o f thecasing H, this attachment-being throughthemedium of a disk or end pieced to which one end of the "diaphragm is immediately connected, its

other end being united to a disk which is detachably connected to. themain safety slide J This slide J is'conveniently made of cylindricalform and slides freely through a cylindrical neck orguide-way f formedin the intermediate portion of the casing H. The opposite end portion ofthis casing is expanded to forma chamber K which encloses the spring I).Between the portions f and K the casing H is formed with a cylinder g inwhich is movable a piston 'i preferably formed integral with the slideJ. The chamber K is closed by a disk j screwed into the casing H andagainst which the spring b reacts, and which is perforated at 7c toadmit water 'into this chamber. `The water thus admitted cannot pass thepiston z' when the parts are in the normal position shown in Fig. 1. Thesafety slide J has a. solid portion m which-inthe normal positionclosesal liringhole p which communicates with a cartridge-receiving chamber gformed within the intermediate charge C. The safety slide has an openingfr which, as the primary hydrostat yields to the hydrostatic pressure,moves downward, and upon reaching the rimary set depth enters intocoincidence with the opening p, this being the position shown in Fig. 3.To keep the slide J, if formed cylindrically, from turning within theshell H, it is provided at its upper portion in Fig. -1v with agroove oengaged b a key or lug s on a disk s', as shown in igs. 1 and 4, theseparts having a free sliding lit.

The secondary hydrostat F is shown as including a piston L which slides,against the stress of a spring S, in a cylinder M arranged at rightangles to the casing H,

and preferably in the longitudinal axis of the shell A. At its inner endthis piston isclosed by a freely removable disk t which normally carriesa frangible thin metal disk t (Fig. 2) having a central hole for guidingthe cartridge D As the piston L moves forward the cartridge slides inthis hole.

The piston L carries a tubular shell N Within which is mounted thehammer P formed with a projecting firing pin P', and receiving behind itthe pressure of a suitably stilf spring Q. When set ready for firing,the'hammer is held by sears R (one or more), eachhaving a projectingtail R which, as the parts moveito the final depth, encounters the diskt (see Fig. 3), and by the final movement is swung backwardly (see Fig.5), thereb releasing the hammer, so that the latter isprojected forwardto cause its pin to enter the cap or fulminate charge of the cartridgeand explode the latter. The cartridge might be stationar but ispreferably mounted on the end of t e'tubular shell N by means of a screwcap u (Fig. `5) or in any other suitable manner. The slide J is cutawayon one side to form a` chamber o ofv sufficient size to-avoid the slidetouching the cartridge, and sufiiciently large to admit the end of theshell N when the latter is projected. Extending from this chamber to thelower end of the slide J, the slide is formed with a tubular passage fwwhich at the outer end is closed by an suitable part m, preferably athin meta disk, so mounted as to beeasily blown out in case of apremature explosion of the cartridge D. Thus, if with the parts in theposition shown in Fig. 1 anything should happen by which the ca-rtridgeshould be exploded,.

this explosion would not explode 4the bomb because 'the solid portion mof the slidel would prevent the burning powder or-hot gases 'enteringthrough the firing hole p, and these would simply blow out harmlesslythrough the passage w and thereby blow off the diskdr. This disk thusserves as an indicator. VIf in place, it shows that the cartridge isintact; if blown out, as shown 1n Fig. 6 (which is apparent at a glance)it indicates at once to the operator that the cartridge has beenprematurely blown and the bomb is unworkable. 1

The operation is as follows:

The bomb will have been initially charged with the usual. explosivecharges B and C. ln preparing it for use the operator will remove` thecap M which closes the end of the cylinder M, and will take out thepiston L with its attached parts. He will also see that a 'disk t withan intact frangible portion t is in place at the bottom of the cylinderM. He will then'set the hammer P' against the stress of its spring andsee that it is properly held -by the sears R. He will then apply thecartridge D which is attached introducing the end of' the cartridge intothe guiding neck of the inner disk t to the position shown in Fig. 1. Inso doinghe compresses the spring S slightly to its initial tension, thisbeing accomplished in the'act of screwing in the cap M',- whereby thecylinder M' is closed. It is assumed that the slide J and itsappurtenant parts (none of which need ever be removed) were .previouslvin proper position, and that if the end disk :c had at any time beenblown out, a new one is supplied, `The bomb thus is in readiness forlaunching, all the parts being in the position Shown in'Fig. l.

The bomb in this condition may nbehandled with perfect safety, therebeing no possibility of any explosion occurring. `-lllven if thehainmerwere to become released from its sears '(Which could not happenif properly loaded) it could only explode the car-` tridge, which would-harmlessly blow out the cap doingno further damage, in lwhich case theabsence of this cap would-betray to he operator that the bomb had becomeuseess.-

Upon launching, the bomb is dropped overboard and descends in the waterby its weight. The hydrostatic pressure can affect only the primaryhydrostat E by entering its diaphragm. and as this pressure increasesthe slide J will gradually move down against the stress of the spring b,until at or near the primary set depth the piston c' passes out of thecylinder g, as Jshown 4in Fig. 3, and thereby permits water to enterunder pres- 49 sure through the openings 7c, chamber K, cylinder g, andthrough passage to the interior of the cylinder M, where it acts uponthe iston L of the secondary hydrostatalilzindj advances this pistonagainst the stress of its spring. S. This advance is gradual as the bombdescends; during -this advance the cartridge D enters throughthe firinghole pl into the recess q in the inter-- mediate explosive charge C, asshown in Fig. Ab

50 3. `Finally when the set depth isreached, the sears R are released inthe manner `de scribed andthe hammer flies forward, its, xpin strikingthe cap and exploding the cartridge. As the cartridge thus explodeswithin the charge C,`the latter is exploded .with

great certainty, and this in turn explodes the main charge B.

Theslide J is of such length that in its initial position shown in Fig.-1 its lower 0 end comes just within the exterior dimensions of the shellof the bomb, If wrongly assembled (forexample, if the spring b wereomitted)` the slidel would in the handling of the bomb become displaced,which would at once be betrayed .by its end projecting be- -cap c theprimary diaphragm a with yond the shell of the bomb, .as shown in Fig.3. Thus, the operator would be warned to examine the launch the bomb.

i In order to avoid any counter-pressure which might materially affectthe operation of the hydrostats, provision is made for parts beforeattemptingy to .venting the chambers from the side oppositel to thatwhich receives hydrostatic. pressure into a somewhat large chamber Uwhich is formed in the end portion of the shell or casing- A by means ofa partition y which divides the interior of the casing, the portion tothe right of this partition in Fig. l being filled with the explosivecharge.y The -vent to the chamber U from the diaphragm chamber G may beeffected by a short tube y', while the vent from'the interior of thecylinder M into the chamber U may be effected by means of al Jort oropening Before launching, the chamber U is filled with air vatatmospheric pressure; as the bomb descends, the movement of thehydrostats displaces some fluid into this chamber, but not enough tocreateany material back-pressure therein sucha3 would-impair the'actionof the hydrostats. A

If desired, the chamber G may be illed with heavy oil or grease forlubricating .the diaphragm a and its appurtenant parts, and alsofonlubricating the slide J in its movements within the tubular svh'ell-`As the diaphragm a expands, some of this grease Will be expelledthrough passage y into the thamber lU, but without any detrimentalefect. t I

It will be understoodthat the use of the lcc intermediate explosivecharge C as a primer,

while practically desirable, is not essential to.

the present invention.

The safety slide J may be easily removedl by unscrewing the cap ji- Byremoving the its cap e may be taken out, the neck of this cap` having afree sliding fit with the slide J. 'The slide J may then be pushed down'and Iout and freely withdrawn. The cartridge D lll) should either beabsent or its length should I e insuflicient'to cause it to project intothe pathw of the slide. p

To cause the piston z' to make a water-tight ll-i.

joint in the normal position, it is desirable to 'fit it with a gasketi.

For effecting a joint between the pass/age T and the tubular shell H, itis desirable to interpose a bushing j', as shown, so that the parts maybe united by a sliding joint.

I havelshown no adjustmentsfor'the hydrostat springs b and S, becausethe provision of such adjustments would be a needless complication. yItis preferable to construct these springs of the desired resiliency tocause the hydrostats to accomplish their movements at certain'predetermined depths respectively. 1f it is desired that either hy"-drostat be caused to act at a different set depth, this can beaccomplished by having in reserve one or more additional springs havingdiferent resiliency or stress, and these ma be substituted for either ofthe springs or S to accomplish the desired change in therespectiveoperating depths.

It is one of the advantages of the improvedv bomb provided by thisinvention that it is adapted for safe discharge from a launching tubesuch asis used for launching automobile torpedoes. By making it of theproper 'diameter to it such tubes and of a suitable length (beingapproximately the proportions shown in Fig. 7) it may be ejected fromsuch a launching tube in exactly the same manner as a torpedo'. For suchuse it has the special advantage incident to the transverse movement ofthe safety slide J, thatif any derangement occurs which causes the-protrusion of this slide, as shown in Fig. 3,

it cannotbe entered into the launching tube; it also has the -advantagethat while the absence of the disk m would'betray the fact of lprematureexplosion of the detonator,. the presence of this disk, which Ainconnection with the normal osition of the slide J affords assurance othe correct operative con- 'dition of the bomb, guards against anyintroduction of compressed air from the launching tube such as mightleak past the sides of the bombfand enter through the passage w, andwhich, if it were -tozenter within the cylinder M, might derange thehydrostatic action of the secondary hydrostat F. The disk m affordsmaximum resistance against inward pressure, while affording onlysuicient resistance against outward pressure to hold it in place undernormal conditions.

It Iwill be understood that. while the embodiment of the invention hereillustrated and described is the preferable one, yet the details ofconstruction may be considerably varied according'to practices wellunder.

stood in this art, and that such structural variations may be madewithout departing from the present invention, within the scope of theappended claims.

In the claims the cartridge or its equivalent isreferred to as adetonator, and the explosive charge includes both the intermediatecharge C and the main high explosive B,

if both are used. What I claim is:^- 1. A de th bomb having an explosivecharge an a detonator, with primary `and secondary hydrostats, safetymeans Anormally interposed to prevent exploding said .charge from thedetonator and adapted to permit such explosion on responding to apreliminary set depth, and said secondary hydrostat adapted to explodethe deton'ator upon reaching a final set depth.

2. `A- depth bomb according said safety means including a movable partto claim which uncovers a firing hole on responding to thepreliminaryset depth.

3. A depth bomb accordingy to claim l," i

said exploding charge having an internal cavity communicating with afiring hole,

and said safety means including a movable part. which uncovers saidtiring hole on relinal set depth to project the detonator through saidiringh'ole into said cavity.

-5. A depth bomb having an explosive charge, a detonator, and primaryand secondary hydrostats, with a fluid passage for admitting hydrostaticpress-ure to the secondary hydrostat, and means controlling said passageadapted upon the movement of the primary hydrostat responding to apredetermined depth to open said passage.

- 6. A depth bomb having an explosive charge and a detonator, withprimary and secondary hydrostats, with safety means operated by theprimary hydrostat yand means for exploding the detonator operated by thesecondary hydrostat, and means controlled by the primary hydrostat foradmitting hydrostatic pressure at a predetermined depth to the secondaryhydrostat.

7. In a depth bomb having an explosive charge and means fory explodingit, a hydrostatically-operated safety device compris ing a.movable slideprimarily occupying a safety' position where it is interposed to preventthe action/of said exploding`-means, and a hydrostat adapted at apredetermined depth` to displace said slide intov position to permit theoperation of said means and thereby cause the explosion of the containedcharge. a

8. A depth. bomb` having an explosive charge formed with an internalcavity coinmunicating with ariring hole, and a safety device comprisinga hydrostatically-operatedmovable part adapted at a predetermined depthto uncover such tiring hole, and means adapted. thereafter to introducea detonator through said hole into said cavity.

9. A depth bomb having, an explosive charge and a detonator, with asafety .means normally interposed to prevent explosion of the detonatorfrom exploding said charge,

and a vent adapted to discharge-externala slide movable underhydrostatic control.

and having avent passage for discharging externally any productsresulting from a ma premature explosion of the detonator.

11. A depth bomb according to claim 9, having a fragile closure for saidvent passage adapted tobe blown o' in the event of a premature.explosion to thereby indicate its occurrence.

12. In a depth bomb having an explosive charge and means for explodingit, a safety device and a hydrostat operating it, said safety device inits normal safety position located within the bomb and adapted uponmoving to firing position to project beyond the bomb.

13. A depth bomb comprising primary and secondar hydrostats, a safetydevice operated by t e primary hydrostat and consisting of a slidecarrying a valve, and a passage from the ,exterior to the secondaryhydrostat controlled by such valve, such pas sage being normally closed,but opened un- 1 der control of the prilnaly hydrostat at n. preliminaryset depth.

14. A depth bomb having primary and secondary hydrostats, and an emptychamber communicating with the chambers of said hydrostats into whichiiuid may be expelled from said chambers as the hydrostats respond tohydrostatic pressure.

15. A depth bomb having primary and secondary hydrostats, and a safetydevice controlled by the primary hydrostat, a transverse shell in whichsuch safety device moves, and a longitudinal cylinder enclosing thesecondary hydrostat, `With removable means for giving access to saidhydrostats from the exterior.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. 'WILLIAM DIETER.

